Benefits of Exercising on a Recumbent Exercise Bike

To maintain a healthy standard of living, it is advisable to work out for a minimum of thirty minutes per day, five to six times a week. This can be achieved by joining a gym or investing in your own exercise machine. Since joining a gym can be financially straining for many, buying an inexpensive gym machine can bring visible- and highly positive- differences to both your physical and mental health. Recumbent bikes are always a great option since these machines are acclaimed for being quite gentle on the body. For this reason, it can safely be used by elderly and obese people- which is not always the case for other exercise machines.

For instance, the great majority of recumbent bikes come with contoured seats designed to accommodate your body while encouraging you to adopt an ergonomic posture. Since you do not have to sit upright as you train, you will be able to comfortably pedal for longer hours- and burn more calories as a result. In fact, with a recumbent bike, users will be able to lose between 300 and 500 calories in just one hour. If you pedal on a higher intensity, you can actually lose up to 800 calories.

More Variety with Preset Programs

With a recumbent bike, users can additionally benefit from a variety of built-in programs to guide them through different types of workouts. For example, higher-end machines such as the Nautilus R616 and the Schwinn 230 can simulate different terrain types such as uphill, mountains or rocky streets. If your bike is equipped with a digital screen, you can also view these terrain types directly on the screen. The screen can even be used to consult different information related to your training sessions such as the number of calories burned, distance covered, time elapsed and even your heart rate. Indeed, the majority of recumbent bikes do include pulse sensors built into the handlebars to help you keep an eye on your heart rate.

Another health benefit of recumbent bikes is that they deliver a full-body aerobic exercise. This promotes your cardiovascular health while ensuring a healthy blood flow. Consequently, these machines can be used to strengthen your core muscles so you can move on to other physical activities like running, weight lifting, marathon and the likes. Since most recumbent bikes come with different levels of resistance, you can add more tension to your workout and build up muscular strength.

If you’re ready to fork out on a more expensive and professional exercise machine, you can also benefit from additional features that will make your training session more enjoyable. For instance, some machines come with built-in fans and water-bottle holders to keep you cool and hydrated while you work out. Similarly, other bikes can include tablet and book holders to keep boredom at bay. Higher-end bikes feature USB ports that enable you to access various options online. For example, there are some specific fitness-related websites that allow you to track your progress on the recumbent machine and even compare them to your fellow cyclists. The USB port can even be used to download additional programs, levels of resistance or terrain types to your machine.